Come Back To Me
by Luciel89
Summary: Angels and humans live side-by-side, but not in harmony. Dean and Castiel were childhood friends, but their cultures tore them apart. Now, 18 years later, Cas returns to Lawrence, only to find that Dean doesn't remember him… AU slash.
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Come Back To Me

**Author**: Luciel89

**Rating:** Mature, for later chapters

**Pairings and characters**: Dean/Castiel, Gabriel, Sam (mostly only mentioned, sorry), appearances of other characters from the canon

**Word count**: ~17,800 in total (all 5 chapters)

**Spoilers**: None

**Warnings**: Angel-phobia, a bit of violence, m/m sexual content, wing!fic, wing!porn

**Summary**: Angels and humans live side-by-side, but not in harmony. Dean and Castiel were childhood friends, but their cultures tore them apart. Now, 18 years later, Cas returns to Lawrence, only to find that Dean doesn't remember him…

It took me some time to write it, but here is my first AU fic! It'll have 5 chapters and will be updated regularly. This is the first time I've ever written an AU, so please go easy on me.

This fic will be mostly from Castiel's POV, but sometimes it'll switch to Dean's, so be aware of that. Usually I write fics with Dean's POV, but I decided to make an exception. Can't just ignore poor Cas like that, can I XD

I hope you enjoy my fic, and I might even write a sequel to it if you like it :) I have a few ideas for a sequel.

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Castiel returned home from a long day of work, and immediately made his way to the couch to throw himself on it. He had barely even managed to lock the door before he collapsed on the couch.

He worked at a big distribution warehouse where he helped putting the goods on the shelves to later be redistributed by retailers. It was mostly a boring job, and many of the things he carried were quite heavy, but he hadn't been able to find anything else. It was at times like these he cursed at his wings, which were strong and heavy on his back, and which made it so tough to carry heavy things around all day long.

He sighed and spread his wings out, letting them rest over the couch and the floor. The wings were black and sort of unkempt. It's hard to groom your wings when you cannot reach all your feathers.

It was already late when the doorbell to Castiel's apartment rang. He woke up from his short nap and groaned as he got up from the couch. He willed his wings out of sight and walked over to the door and opened it, only to face his brother Gabriel.

"Hey bro, long time, no see," Gabriel cheered at him.

Castiel glared at him. He had just come home from a long day's work, and only wanted to lie down on the couch to rest a bit longer, and now he was facing his brother who had the biggest grin on his face. Even though he loved his brother, Castiel didn't feel in the mood for hanging out with him right now. Besides, it had only been two days since they saw each other last time.

"What is it, Gabriel?"

"Ow, don't sound so annoyed," Gabriel said, pretending to be hurt. "You sit in here every day after work. How about we go out and spend some time together?"

"Go where?" Castiel said, frowning at his brother.

"You'll see," Gabriel said and practically dragged Castiel out of his apartment. Castiel barely had time to lock the door before Gabriel guided him away.

Ever since they moved back to Lawrence, Castiel and Gabriel had spent a lot of time together. Gabriel had moved out when Castiel was thirteen to get a career as a so-called 'angel warrior', meaning hunting down demons and other evil things. So he and Gabriel had some time and things to catch up on.

It had been eighteen years since Castiel had last been to this city. He was born and grew up here with Gabriel and their parents, in the outer part of Lawrence.

His family belonged to a another kind of angels – the ancestors of angels from Heaven, who had for some reason come down to Earth and settled there. The angels on Earth weren't quite as strong as the angels from Heaven, and were physically somewhat different (they didn't need a vessel, they had their own human forms, but still had wings and grace), but they remained the strongest beings on Earth, and had formed a society that now lived side-by-side with humanity. Though, the tension between angels and humans still existed, even today.

Shortly after Castiel's seventh birthday, his father had been offered a new job in Texas which he couldn't decline, so his family had been forced to move there. It had broken Castiel's heart that they had to leave, since like any other angel he was very attached to the place of his birth.

Now, eighteen years after having moved away, Castiel was back in Lawrence with his brother, Gabriel, who had wanted to come back as well.

It surprised Castiel that Gabriel wanted to return to their hometown as well, especially after he had just been promoted to the status of archangel by the leaders in the angel society. But Gabriel had insisted that he had enough of always doing what the leaders wanted him to do, and wanted to lay low for a while and enjoy life. Castiel couldn't blame him.

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Gabriel took him to a small café in the outer part of town. It was small, yes, but it seemed cosy and quiet, and Castiel kind of liked the place.

When they first entered the café, Castiel was met by the smell of food and coffee. Castiel wrinkled his nose; he wasn't so used to the smell of cafés, and the coffee smell was kind of strong. He figured he'd get used to it after a few minutes so he shrugged it off.

There were two people behind the counter, a man and a woman, Castiel noticed. They both nodded their heads at them and smiled as a greeting when they entered the café, and he and Gabriel nodded back. And that was when Castiel looked into the bright, green eyes of the waiter behind the counter and froze.

The man behind the counter… Castiel knew him.

It was Dean. Dean Winchester.

It couldn't be.

But there was no mistaking it. He was older now, but Castiel still recognized his eyes when the man looked up at him. And his soul – one of the brightest souls Castiel had ever seen.

Castiel must have stood there for a while, staring wide-eyed and with open mouth at Dean, because suddenly he felt Gabriel grab his arm and drag him away. "Cas, are you okay?" he heard his brother ask.

"Uh…"

"I'll take that as a yes. Stop standing there like an idiot and come over here," Gabriel said, sounding almost amused, before he dragged Castiel over to an available table. The table was at the window row, almost right in front of the counter where the waiters were.

They sat down opposite each other, and it took Castiel some effort to look away from Dean. Finally he forced himself to look away from the man and faced Gabriel.

"Someone you know?" Gabriel asked with a smirk.

"Um…" Castiel was cut off when someone came to take their orders.

"What can I get you guys?"

Castiel flinched when he noticed that it was Dean. He glanced up at the man, but Dean showed no signs of recognition; he only smiled friendly at them.

It made something inside Castiel break and he looked into his lap. Of course Dean wouldn't recognize him. It had been eighteen years, and Dean was only a human; humans didn't recognize others the way angels did – by sensing grace or souls.

"Well, I think I'm taking a bacon-cheese burger with fries and a beer," Gabriel said, smiling up at Dean. "Dunno about my bro. Cas!" he said, snapping Castiel out of his thoughts and making him look at him. "Whatcha want?"

"Uh," Castiel said, taking a minute to realise what Gabriel meant. "Oh, err, just the same as him," he said, trying to smile up at Dean but pretty much failed. Gabriel snorted from across him, but Castiel ignored him.

"Okay then," Dean smiled, staring into Castiel's eyes for a moment before leaving to get their orders.

Castiel made himself stop following Dean with his eyes and tried to focus on Gabriel again. When he looked at his brother, he was smirking at him.

"Dude, gay love between you two?" Gabriel teased.

"Shut up, Gabriel," Castiel muttered and blushed, making his brother roar with laughter.

When Dean returned a few minutes later with their food, Castiel forced himself not to look at him.

Dinner with Gabriel was pretty relaxing. They talked about their family, and how it went at their perspective jobs. Gabriel was working as a janitor at the University of Kansas. Though Gabriel said he repaired and took care of a lot of stuff every day, Castiel knew his brother was probably also doing a few other things there which weren't so respectable – such at pulling pranks on poor, unsuspecting people – but he decided not to mention it.

When they were done eating Gabriel asked for the check and they both paid for the respective meals. They got up and Gabriel put his arm around Castiel's shoulder while telling him some joke as they walked towards the exit.

Castiel smiled at his brother's ridiculous joke and shivered slightly when he felt Dean's gaze on him as they left the café.

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It was almost a week ago that Gabriel had dragged Castiel into that café where he had seen Dean again after so many years. But the fact that Dean didn't seem to recognize him had hurt, even though they hadn't exactly parted in the best of ways when they were kids. Castiel wasn't sure if he wanted to go back to the café again.

But another part of him desperately wanted to go back and see Dean again, and that part grew larger and larger every day.

It wasn't a big surprise to Castiel when he found himself walking into the café after work on a Wednesday night. There were two girls standing behind the counter, a blonde and a brunette, but Dean was nowhere in sight.

Castiel hesitated before he sat down by the counter. The brunette – Ruby, said her name tag – came over and Castiel ordered a coffee. He could need that right now after such a long day carrying around heavy stuff at the store. He might be stronger than humans, but that didn't make his job a luxury.

He looked around in the café. It wasn't very crowded, there were only five or six people in it right now, but Castiel didn't mind. He liked quiet places.

That was until he heard people arguing and turned to see Dean and some woman standing in the back of the café, having an argument.

"Seriously, _why_ did you have an _angel_ to come over and repair the damn pipes?" the woman shouted at Dean. "You know how I feel about them, Dean! How could you?"

"Rachel, honey, I told you; I forgot, okay?" Dean said. Castiel observed how Dean grabbed the woman's biceps to calm her down. "But seriously, if I hadn't called someone, the damn apartment would be flooded by now, and you'd be even more pissed! And angel or not, he repaired them, didn't he? Now, would you _please_ stop shouting at me at my _freaking workplace, _there areguests here."

Dean's firm, annoyed voice made the woman calm down and take a look around at the people who were staring at them now. She snapped something at Dean before she stalked out of the café.

Castiel felt his heart drop.

Dean had a girlfriend. And she didn't like angels, it seemed. His invisible wings twitched nervously behind him at the realization.

Maybe Castiel made a mistake in coming back here after all.

He didn't even notice it when Dean walked over behind the counter to continue his work, and suddenly spoke to him.

"You here alone today?"

Castiel snapped out of his thoughts and saw Dean standing on the other side of the counter, leaning towards him and smiling. The smile alone made Castiel's grace jump inside of him.

"Um, yes, my brother is still at work," Castiel said, shifting.

"Ah," Dean said and leaned back somewhat. "Sorry about that earlier, hope it didn't bother you too much," he said and gestured at the place where he and his girlfriend had just fought.

"It's okay," Castiel said, attempting to smile.

"Good," Dean said, almost with relief. "So, what brings you here today, Cas?" Castiel looked up at him with a confused frown and Dean explained, "I heard your brother call you 'Cas' last time, so I figured that's your name."

"Oh," Castiel said. For a moment he thought about correcting him and tell him his name was actually 'Castiel', but then he remembered that Dean's girlfriend hadn't seem too pleased about angels. If Dean were to recognize him and start a friendship again, the girlfriend would most likely be angry and disapprove.

They been through this kind of thing before, end it had ended badly.

So Castiel decided Dean didn't have to know who he was. It would do more damage than good. So instead he just smiled at him and said, "Yes, yes it is."

Dean smiled at that. "I'm Dean, but I bet you already read that from the name tag," he grinned.

Castiel was about to say something when the blonde waitress came over.

"Dean, what are you standing there for? Hurry up and get that guy his— oh," she trailed off when she noticed Cas, and stared between the two, but mostly on Cas. "Someone you know?" she asked Dean.

"Maybe. What's it to you?" Dean teased.

"You're an ass. Just get that guy his coffee already," she said, gesturing at a man sitting in the far end of the café, before she turned around and walked into the kitchen in the back.

When she was gone, Dean turned to look at Castiel again and smiled. "That's Jo, never mind her. I should probably get back to work," he said and moved away from the counter.

"Yes, you should," Castiel smiled.

Dean stared at Cas' smile for a few moments, before snapping out of it and gave Cas a smile and went over to the other man with his coffee.

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Castiel decided not to go back to the café again. Dean had a life now, he had a girlfriend and a job, and if Castiel interfered, he would only destroy what Dean had built up. Besides, angels and humans were rarely ever friends, and when they were it often had complicated side-effects because their cultures were so different. Humans still looked at angels like they were lower than them, and looked down on those who had close relations to angels.

It was better to leave Dean alone and not drag him into this. Not again.

Castiel found himself lying on his stomach on the couch in his living room once again. He tossed around and sighed in frustration.

His grace was in pain. The same pain he'd felt eighteen years ago when he had lost his most precious friend. It was almost unbearable.

Seeing Dean again had made his grace jump with joy inside him; making him want to be with his long lost childhood friend and crush again, even if Dean didn't recognize him.

But Castiel knew he couldn't risk it.

Days passed, and the pain didn't get any better. Every day when he came home from work, he'd walk back and forth in his apartment, or just lie on the bed or couch; hoping the pain would go away soon.

But it didn't.

He didn't even feel like seeing Gabriel anymore. But his brother was persistent, and sometimes he managed to drag Castiel out his apartment and take him somewhere. He had asked Gabriel to go somewhere else with him instead of the café where Dean worked. His brother had looked at him in worry and asked what was wrong, but Castiel didn't answer him.

Gabriel had even asked if it was because Castiel was 'in love with the waiter' that he was too shy to go back. Castiel had denied it and told Gabriel that Dean already had a girlfriend, so it was not the reason.

Castiel was quite happy that his brother didn't seem to recognize Dean. It wasn't like Dean and Gabriel had met often when they were kids – only on a few occasions, and it was not long enough that Gabriel would have a reason to remember his soul. And if he did, he didn't show it.

Weeks had passed since Castiel last saw Dean, and it was on a Friday night that Gabriel found Castiel on the couch again, and then decided to drag him back to the café where Dean worked.

"Gabriel! I told you I don't want to go back here," Castiel snapped as he found himself outside the café with his brother.

"Aw, c'mon, just because you have a crush on the waiter – who has a girlfriend – doesn't mean you have to stay away from here forever, or lie around miserably on your couch all day," Gabriel said; still trying to push Castiel inside. "I don't remember teaching my bro to be a coward. Besides, I like this place, so get your butt inside."

"I'm not a coward, Gabriel, and nor do I have a crush on Dean," Castiel said stubbornly; still struggling with his brother who was determined to push him inside the café. But fighting an archangel was pretty much useless.

"Yeah, whatever, bro," Gabriel said and finally pushed Castiel inside.

As soon as they were inside, Castiel stopped struggling and stood straight as people stared at him. His entrance had been rather awkward, after all. He flushed and followed Gabriel over to their usual seats and sat down.

Castiel hadn't seen Dean around when they had entered, but that didn't mean the human wasn't here. He prayed he wasn't. He couldn't stand to look at Dean and know that he couldn't have any kind of relationship with him – Dean was forbidden territory for Castiel.

"C'mon, bro," Gabriel said, snapping Castiel out of his thoughts. "You can't possibly be _that_ scared that the man is here." Castiel didn't answer and just looked away. Gabriel leaned closer and smirked. "Have you even told the guy that you're angel? You haven't, have you?"

Castiel immediately turned to look at his brother. "No, and you mustn't tell him, Gabriel!"

"Whoa, easy, calm down bro," Gabriel grinned, throwing his hands up in defence and leant back. "I was just asking."

Their conversation ended when Dean came over to take their orders. Castiel had almost forgotten that the tables in this area seemed to be 'Dean's tables', and of course Dean would be the one to take their orders.

"Hey guys, what can I get you this time?" Dean asked, smiling as he looked between them, but mostly he was looking at Castiel.

Castiel felt his grace jump inside him again as Dean's green eyes landed on him, but he tried to ignore it.

"For me, the same as usual, and the same goes for my bro I think," Gabriel said, looking over at Castiel who only managed to nod.

"Alright then," Dean smiled, his eyes meeting Castiel's for a split second before he left.

Dinner was the usual; they talked about what had happened since last time they met, and Gabriel said that their older brother, Michael, had just gotten a promotion within the angel army as a Sergeant Major. He had been an archangel for quite a few years now, so it wasn't a surprise that he kept getting promoted at his job. He had always taken his job at the military very seriously.

Castiel had no intention of trying to become an archangel. A job within the army or anything like that didn't interest him, and he was satisfied with the powers he already had.

Everyone in his family had gone for high educated jobs or ranks, and his father hadn't been very impressed when Castiel had said he didn't want to follow the example. Gabriel had been the only one to support his decision, which he was quite grateful for.

Angels usually got jobs within the military because they were good at the jobs, and their powers made them better soldiers than humans. Besides, it was pretty much the only job that was 'acceptable' for an angel.

"Man, I like this place – best burgers ever!" Gabriel said when they were done eating. He leaned back in his seat and patted his stomach in satisfaction. He looked somewhere behind Castiel and suddenly his expression changed and he stood up.

"I need the bathroom, might take a while, just wait here, will ya?"

Gabriel gave Castiel a wink, and before he could say anything, Gabriel was gone. He wondered what had gotten into his weird brother, when suddenly he sensed someone's presence. He looked up and saw Dean.

"Hi there," said Dean, sitting down in the seat opposite Cas that Gabriel had occupied earlier. "Do you mind if I sit here for a bit?" he asked, uncertainly.

Castiel's eyes widened in surprise before he stammered, "Uh, no, not at all."

Dean's eyes lit up, but only for a second and then it was gone again.

"So, um, I haven't seen you around for a few weeks. Everything ok?"

Castiel was taken a little aback by the question and shifted in his seat. "Everything's fine, it's just… it's complicated."

"Yeah, tell me about it," Dean muttered and looked down at the table, and somehow Castiel knew he was referring to his girlfriend, whom he had argued with a few weeks earlier.

Dean snapped out of his thoughts and Castiel watched as his face almost lit up. "You know, we do offer the world's best pie on Wednesdays. You should come by some time and try it out; you won't regret it."

For a moment, Castiel wanted to say no thanks, but Dean was looking at him so hopefully, that he eventually found himself nodding and saying, "I would like that."

"Awesome," Dean grinned. "See ya around, Cas," he said, before getting up and went back to work before Jo yelled at him again.

Castiel feared that Dean had recognized him after all, since he kept talking to him and smiling at him. But he didn't sense any proper sign of recognition in his soul, so Castiel was sure that Dean remained oblivious of who he was. Probably, Dean's soul recognized Castiel's grace from their childhood years; making Dean feel comfortable in his presence, and that was why Dean was trying to talk to him and get to know him better.

The situation was getting more and more dangerous…

To be continued…

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The second chapter will be up very soon, as I already wrote it. But I won't post the chapters on the same days, sorry.

Hoped you liked it so far, chapter 2 should be a little more interesting. Please review and let me know what you think :)


	2. Chapter 2

The following Wednesday, Castiel did find himself walking into the café again after all, in spite of his previous promises to stay away.

When he entered the café, he was met by Dean's smiling face as the man saw him, and he went to sit down by the counter again.

"Hiya, Cas," Dean greeted him with a friendly smile.

"Hello, Dean."

Dean put a small plate with pie on it in front of Cas and said, "Best pie in the world – my treat."

"Dean, I couldn't possibly—"

Dean cut him off by raising his hand. "No, no. I insist."

Castiel closed his mouth, not arguing any further, and thanked Dean before he tried out the pie. Dean was right, the pie _was_ very good.

"So, who have we got here?"

Castiel looked up and saw the waitress, Jo, moving over to stand next to Dean; eyes settling on Castiel before she looked back at Dean. "Have you started making regular customers, Mr. Winchester?" she teased.

"Oh please, you make it sound like you're surprised by my talents," Dean said, sarcastically, moving over to clean the counter of some dirt.

Jo chuckled and turned her attention back to Castiel. She leaned over the counter, and Castiel resisted the urge to lean back when she got too close. "Are you single?" she asked, giving him a flirtatious smile.

Castiel stared at her with wide eyes before Dean dropped what he was doing and came over. "Hey Jo, that's customer harassment. Leave the poor guy alone."

Jo pouted at him like a kid that had been denied candy before she hit him with the dishcloth she'd been holding. "Ow," Dean said; rubbing his arm where she had hit him before he watched her disappear into the kitchen in the back; grinning back at him.

"You okay?" Castiel asked, worriedly.

Dean turned to look at him again and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. She hits like a chick, anyway." Castiel couldn't help but chuckle at that, and Dean sat down on the other side of the counter.

"So, forgot to ask before, are you new in this city, or…?"

"Yes, I just moved here a few weeks ago along with my brother," Castiel answered.

"Oh," Dean said. "You lived here before, or is it the first time you live here?"

Castiel froze. "Uh, it's the first time I live here," he lied. He felt his grace protest at his lie but he ignored it.

"Ah. It's just, you seem familiar somehow but I can't quite put my finger on it... Or maybe I'm just mistaking you with someone else," Dean said, shifting in his chair.

"I think you're mistaking me with someone else," Castiel said, forcing a smile.

"Probably," Dean said, absently, before he switched topics. "Anyway, your brother works at the University of Kansas, right?"

Castiel frowned at him. "Yes, how did you know?"

"I've seen him there before," Dean explained. "My younger brother, Sam, studies law there, and I've seen your brother around a few times when I've picked Sammy up from school to hang out. Your brother seems to be quite the troublemaker," he laughed.

Castiel knew what Dean was talking about. Even though Gabriel was a janitor there and was supposed to repair things and do other useful stuff, he often pulled pranks on the students and teachers just for the fun of it.

Suddenly it hit Castiel that Dean might know that Gabriel was an angel – and thus know that Castiel was, too. But then he remembered that his brother never used his powers (at least not in an obvious way) when he was at work – it only attracted unwanted attention and trouble from other angels and from angel-hostile humans which, unfortunately, there were quite a lot of.

Castiel almost sighed in relief. Dean was still oblivious of him being an angel.

"My brother has never been very good at not being ridiculous," Castiel smiled.

"Are you kidding me? I hear that guy's a genius," Dean laughed.

"Dean," Jo called and stepped out from the kitchen. "There are three new customers. In _your_ working area."

"Oh, shit," Dean cursed and stood up. He looked at Castiel and said, "You'll be back, right? Soon?"

Castiel wasn't sure what to say, but his grace filled with joy at the thought of being with Dean again soon, so he simply nodded. Dean gave him a wide smile before he went over to serve the next customers, and Castiel left the café.

It became a weekly habit to visit the café. Usually Castiel came by on Wednesdays to enjoy the delicious pies, and Dean seemed pleased that he liked them as much as he did himself.

They talked about a lot of things, but Castiel always avoided certain questions that could reveal who and what he really was. He hated it, lying to Dean likes this, but he didn't want to put Dean through the trouble of knowing an angel. Not again.

The girlfriend, Rachel, seemed to cause quite a lot of trouble to Dean lately; they had been arguing a lot, Dean told him, but in the end they always made up – only to start a new argument the day after. But Dean seemed optimistic that they'd figure something out soon, hopefully, even though he 'sucked at relationships' as he said.

Castiel told Dean about his work – carefully avoiding mentioning that he was an angel. He also avoided telling about his tasks in too much detail, because his tasks were mainly 'angel tasks' as people called them. Instead, he told Dean about his boss, Zachariah (not mentioning he was an angel), and how he made his life hell at the warehouse where he worked. He forced everyone to work 10-12 hours a day if they wanted to get a good payment, and rarely ever let them have any breaks.

Dean had told him he should find another job, but that was easier said than done. Not many places wanted to employ an angel.

Castiel tried to not to think about how much he enjoyed spending time with Dean every Wednesday night. Wednesday was the day where he got off his shift early, around 6pm, and he always looked forward to coming to the café and to Dean.

Deep down, Castiel knew these Wednesday-meetings might have consequences for him in the end, but right now he just couldn't bring himself to care. He enjoyed this, it was the best time of the week along with hanging out with Gabriel every second weekend, and he couldn't let it go.

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Dean had no idea why he suddenly started talking to this guy in the first place. There was just something about him that he couldn't shake off. Like he knew him from somewhere, but he couldn't remember where.

This guy, Cas, was pretty good-looking; messy black hair, pretty full lips and the bluest eyes Dean had ever seen on a person. He was also kind of odd and reserved, but Dean found that he actually kind of liked that about him.

Besides, Dean found that it was good to have someone you don't know that well and don't see every day, with whom you can talk to about your life and problems. Cas was always paying attention to what Dean was saying. Most people didn't take Dean as seriously as this guy did, as most just kept thinking of Dean as 'the funny guy,' which wasn't always what Dean wanted.

He had found out that Cas was living alone in his apartment, and that he worked at in warehouse outside the centre of the town. He cursed inwardly at himself when he suddenly felt joy when he found out that Cas apparently was single.

Yes, Dean liked dudes and girls, but this was just wrong when he had Rachel…

Right, Rachel. The two of them had done nothing but fight lately. It was kind of in the family that they just couldn't keep up a relationship for very long.

It was Friday night when Dean cleaned up the café and locked the door as he left it. He had the last shift so of course he had to clean everything up and make sure everything was locked when he left. Not like it was a big deal to him anyway, but he just wanted to go home already. It had been a long day.

It was kind of chilly outside even though it was June already.

Dean pulled on his jacket and walked down the familiar streets that led to his apartment. He didn't live all that far from the café, only a few miles which could easily be walked. He didn't have the money to take a bus every day anyway.

He was walking in his own thoughts, looking forward to come home and rest on the couch, when he suddenly saw a familiar figure leaning against the wall of a building. He recognized the trench coat and dark hair immediately.

"Cas?" Dean called, and rushed over to him.

"Dean…?" came the slurred reply.

Castiel was leaning his back on the brick wall; holding his hand up to his temple. Dean saw red stains on his face and hand.

"Jesus, what the hell happened?" Dean demanded, and removed Cas' hand to inspect the wound. It wasn't serious but the guy probably had a smaller concussion.

"I… I don't know," Cas said, voice gruff with exhaustion. "I think… Zachariah pushed me…"

"What? Damnit, I'm gonna kill that fucker, he can't get away with that." Dean was getting very pissed at this Zachariah dude. It sounded like he was breaking several laws by treating his employees like shit, and Cas didn't seem to do anything about it.

"Dean, no, you can't… I need the job," Cas mumbled, swaying on his feet and Dean quickly caught him and supported him.

"Fuck your job, Cas, this guy is a freaking devil!"

"I…" Cas suddenly went limp and Dean hurried to prevent Cas from falling to the ground.

"Cas? Cas!" No reply came and Dean could see the guy was out old. "Damnit."

Dean ended up carrying Cas back to his own apartment, as he had no idea where the guy lived. He didn't think the injury required much medical attention and thus there was no reason to drag him to a hospital. Dean never liked hospitals anyways.

He was lucky that he was already near his apartment when he had found Cas, and therefore he didn't have to carry him for that long.

He lay the man down on the couch in the living room and started to treat the wound on his temple.

Rachel wasn't home, she was working a nightshift at the company she worked at. Dean found himself to be grateful for that. He wasn't sure how she'd react when she saw a strange man on their couch, bleeding from his head.

Now he just had to wait for the guy to regain consciousness again.

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When Castiel opened his eyes, he was met by the sight of unfamiliar surroundings. He felt panic rise in him and he stirred, making Dean wake up next to him. He turned to look at the man, who had obviously fallen asleep, sitting on the floor and resting his arms and head on the couch next to Castiel.

They blinked at each other before Dean smiled and asked, "How are you feeling?"

Castiel opened his mouth to speak and closed it again a few times before he managed to force out, "Where… where am I?"

"In my apartment, obviously," Dean said, leaning back and stretching his numb limps. "Couldn't just leave you there on the street after you passed out on me."

"I… This is your place?" Castiel frowned and looked around. It wasn't a big place, though a bit larger than his own apartment. The furnishing was neat, not usually in way a male would put it. It meant that a woman lived here as well.

Suddenly, the door to the apartment was being unlocked and in walked the woman Castiel had seen Dean with all those weeks ago in the café. The woman Dean had fought with.

When she walked into the living room, she froze and dropped her grocery bag. She stared between Dean and Cas. "Who the hell is this?" she asked, confused and shocked.

Dean got up and walked towards the woman; arms out to try to calm her down. "Rachel, it's just some customer from the café. Found him injured on the street, I couldn't just leave him there."

The brunette frowned and looked over at Castiel suspiciously, who tensed as he was being inspected by her. At was at times like these he was glad he could conceal his wings.

Rachel turned back to Dean and said, "and you just bought him here? To our apartment? A total stranger?"

"He's not a stranger, I talk to him regularly," Dean said defensively, shifting as if he was getting impatient with her.

"So what? Who says you know everything about him? He could be an _angel_ for all we know!" she snapped back, already moving into the kitchen and put down the bag on the kitchen counter, emptying it of groceries.

Castiel flinched at her words. He really shouldn't be here, it was wrong.

"Oh, c'mon, don't start that crap again! Angels aren't bad," Dean argued, following her into the kitchen.

Castiel slowly got up from the couch while they were busy arguing. His head was pounding with pain when he stood up and only then he remembered the argument between him and Zachariah the night before, and how his boss had pushed him so he hit his head against something hard. He had been too exhausted to heal the injury right away.

Great, just what he needed.

"Just because you've had bad encounters with a few angels doesn't make them _all_ bad!" Dean shouted. Cas could hear anger in his voice now.

"Don't you dare make me the bad one here!" Rachel shouted back.

Castiel didn't hear the rest of the fight. Flashbacks of his childhood suddenly came crashing down on him…

_~*~*~*~ Flashback ~*~*~*~_

_Dean and Castiel lived opposite each other on Owl's Street. Dean was 7, so was Castiel, though Dean was a few months older than him._

_Dean's father was a mechanic and his mom a nurse. Castiel's father was working in the military, as were many angels because then 'they were of good use', the humans said. His mother was unemployed. She spent the days looking after Castiel and his older brothers, Gabriel and Michael._

_Dean and Castiel had been playmates and friends since they were 5._

"_Cas, Cas! Can I touch your wings?" Dean asked him one day in the garden of Dean's house. _

_Castiel blushed and wrapped his black wings tighter around himself. "You always ask that, Dean…" he said, playing with one of his feathers, absently._

"_I know, but you rarely ever let me! They're awesome. Can I, please?" Dean all but begged. When Castiel finally gave in and nodded, Dean's face lit up in joy and went to gently pet his friend's wings. _

_He liked the wings, they were so soft to touch and Castiel always spread them out; welcoming his touch (when he finally did allow Dean to touch them). Dean kind of wished he had wings too, then he could fly the skies with Cas. _

_Cas had only just learned to fly, since the wings hadn't been strong enough to fly earlier. They still weren't fully developed and properly capable of flying, so Cas' flying still wasn't very good. They wouldn't be capable of flying properly until he hit puberty, where his wings would get larger and stronger. So for now, he only flew close to the ground in case he should fall down, which still happened regularly._

_Castiel hummed in pleasure as Dean paid attention to his wings. His parents or brothers rarely ever had time to groom them for him, but Dean was always eager to. He loved to put the feathers back in place for him, making them look neat and well-kempt. _

_Sam, who was 3, was also quite fond of Cas' wings, though Dean never let his brother anywhere near the angel's feathers. He was very possessive when it came to Cas, and it sort of warmed Cas' grace, which was just as possessive of Dean as Dean was of him._

_Suddenly the door to the garden burst open, and out of the house came a very angry John. Apparently Dean's father was home early from work, and what he saw didn't please him one bit._

_Castiel flinched and pulled his wings back behind his back. He couldn't turn them invisible yet, not until he got older._

"_Dean, get the fuck away from that angel!" John shouted as he stalked across the lawn towards them._

_Dean quickly got to his feet and moved in front of Cas. "No, Dad! Cas is my friend!"_

_"The hell he is!" John spat, standing right in front of them now. Castiel hid himself behind Dean; shivering with fear as the man's soul was filled with anger and disgust now._

"_He's just as much of a freak as any other angel! Now get that thing off my property, Dean!" _

"_No!" Dean cried, not moving away from where he was shielding Cas._

_John mumbled something under his breath before he pushed Dean aside and grabbed Castiel harshly by his left wing and dragged him out of the garden; the angel screaming in fear and pain all the way._

"_No, Dad! Don't hurt him!" Castiel heard Dean cry, but John wasn't listening._

_~*~*~*~ End of flashback ~*~*~*~_

The memories hit him hard. This was why he tended to avoid people, especially the angel-hostile ones. He didn't feel safe here, he had to leave.

Castiel slowly made his way towards the door, when Dean suddenly discovered him.

"Cas, where are you going? You shouldn't walk around just yet," Dean said and hurried over to him.

"I'm fine, and I'm going to be late for work if I don't leave now…"

"What? You're just going to go back there? After what that guy did? Jesus, Cas, you can't just—"

"I told you I need the job, Dean," Cas cut him off. He looked up at met Dean's green eyes, which were staring back at him in worry. It warmed him inside that Dean seemed to care for his welfare, but he wouldn't let himself linger on it. "Thank you for taking me here. But I have to leave now."

He hurried out the door and didn't look back at Dean, who was still standing in the hallway, dumfounded.

To be continued…

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Maybe a bit of a cliff-hanger, sorry, but I will update tomorrow. Hope you enjoyed it and please review – it's very much appreciated :)


	3. Chapter 3

Castiel avoided the café again.

It wasn't like he didn't want to talk to Dean, but he just couldn't explain to him why he had rushed out the door so fast after Dean had helped him.

The fight Dean had had with Rachel triggered some old memories in Castiel that he would rather not remember, and he didn't feel safe in that woman's presence. Her hatred towards angels was very strong. He wondered what could possibly have caused such hatred in her in the first place. Dean had always accepted who and what he was, but it seemed that others just didn't.

Maybe he wasn't meant to be friends with a human. It always ended up bad in the end anyway.

Instead, Castiel tried to concentrate on his work and to please Zachariah by working extra hard. Maybe that would earn him a few days off, if he was lucky. Mostly he just wanted to work to get his mind off of things, even though the work was hard on his body.

His back and wings were always aching when he came home. Castiel wished it could be different but he had no other choice. The world was that cruel.

On a Monday night, he was off from work at 10pm. He left the warehouse through the back door and headed home. He walked a few blocks inside town before he rested his aching back against a cold brick wall. He let his head fall back against the wall as well, sighing in exhaustion.

What a long day.

"Cas?"

Castiel snapped out of his thoughts and turned to face Dean, who standing just a few feet away from him.

"Dean? What—"

"I've been looking all over for you," Dean said, sounding relieved.

Castiel frowned at him and then looked away. "Dean you shouldn't—"

"Yes I should!" Dean cut him off and stepped closer to him, almost invading his personal space "You just rush out of my apartment like you've been stung or something, and I had no idea what was going on, and then you stop showing up at our meetings. I just wonna know what's going on, Cas. Did I… Did I do something…?"

"You didn't do anything, Dean," Castiel told him, firmly, and met his eyes.

"Then why—"

"I just needed to get out of there," Castiel cut him off. "It didn't… it didn't feel right." He bit his lower lip and looked away.

Dean frowned at him. "Was it because of Rachel?" he asked softly. When he got no reply, he knew the answer. "I broke up with her," he said, shifting on his feet; hands buried in his pockets.

Castiel's head snapped up to look at him, staring at him with wide eyes. "What?" he asked, shocked.

Dean just shrugged. "Well, we've done nothing but argue lately, as you know. And I mean, she was all nice at the beginning when it was all birds and flowers, but then a few things happened and, you know, things changed. She kind of became… well, you know how she is now. I thought it would get better over time, but it only got worse. Now she moved into another apartment."

Castiel was still staring at him in shock. He hadn't expected Dean to break up with Rachel all of sudden. "I, I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Dean chuckled. "I think… I think maybe she wasn't the one I was looking for anyway," he said, staring into Castiel's eyes in a way that made Castiel twitch as a warm feeling engulfed his grace.

"Oh," was all he could say.

"So… will you come back to the café or not? I kind of miss having someone to talk to, ya know…" Dean asked, looking at Castiel with hopeful, kind of shy eyes.

It took a while for Castiel to process that. They had both enjoyed each other's company on Wednesday nights; both needing someone to talk to about their day at work and have someone listen to what they had to say. Castiel also missed that. But at the same time he felt guilty every time he and Dean were together. He should let Dean know who he was – _what_ he was – but his fear held him back. He couldn't go through that pain again, of having Dean taken away from him because of what he was.

He considered saying no, because he couldn't take the guilt and the pain in his grace anymore, but instead his mouth ended up saying "Yes" without permission from his brain, because this was what he really wanted. He cursed at himself for it, but when Dean's eyes lit up, so did Castiel's grace.

"Okay, awesome. Uh, see you in two days then, on Wednesday?"

"Sure," Castiel answered, giving Dean a small smile.

"Great," Dean smiled and turned to hurry back to the café. "See you on Wednesday!"

Castiel waved back at him as Dean disappeared down the street.

What on Earth had he gotten himself into now?

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On the Friday after, Dean found himself outside the University of Kansas, waiting for his brother to come out and meet him.

They had planned on spending the night together, maybe go to some bar or club or something and have fun. Sam's girlfriend, Jess, had an appointment with some friends, so it was ideal for the brothers to have a 'boys' night'. They hadn't had that for a while now, and Dean really needed to get away from his everyday life and have some fun.

Cas had showed up, as agreed, the following Wednesday. He was relieved that he and Cas had made up again, though he wasn't quite sure what it was that had made Cas stay away in the first place. He had tried asking him, but the guy didn't seem to want to talk about it, so Dean had stopped asking. He didn't want to push him.

He didn't want to admit it, but he almost had the feeling he couldn't keep doing his stupid job if Cas didn't show up every Wednesday for a talk. Well, he liked the job and his colleagues, but sometimes the customers could really piss one off. It was good to someone who could calm you down after a stressful week.

Dean was leaning against the Impala, waiting for Sam to come out of the school, when he suddenly spotted two familiar figures on a bench in the school's front yard. When he looked closer he noticed that it was Cas and his brother, Gabriel.

Cas was wearing his usual outfit; a suit and the trench coat. He briefly wondered if it was glued to him or something. Dean decided to approach the two.

"Hey guys," he said as he stood in front of them.

"Dean?" Castiel said, staring up at him in surprise.

"Look at that! The guy also exists outside the café," Gabriel grinned at him.

"Yeah, but only sometimes," Dean grinned back.

"What are you doing here?" Castiel asked, still staring up at him in surprise.

"I'm here to pick up Sam. We have some plans for tonight, but the guy hasn't shown up yet," Dean answered and buried his hands in his jean pockets.

"Ah, Sam. I think he's on his way right now," Gabriel said.

"How do you know?" Dean frowned.

"Ah you know, angels— ow!" Gabriel said, glaring at Castiel who had just smacked him with an invisible wing. Castiel was glaring back at him; reminding him not to mention that they were angels.

Dean frowned and stared between them in confusion, wondering what was going on, before Sam approached.

"Dean, there you are! Sorry I'm late, something came up," Sam said.

"No problem, Sammy," Dean smiled and pulled him into a hug. When they pulled apart, Castiel and Gabriel had gotten up from the bench already.

"Gabriel?" Sam asked, frowning in surprise at him.

"Hey Sam," smirked Gabriel.

"You know him?" Dean asked Sam, looking between the two.

"Yeah," Sam said, not taking his eyes from Gabriel as if he was expecting the guy to do something to him as soon as he looked away. "He has a habit of grabbing… my ass."

Sam shifted uncomfortably and Gabriel burst out in laughter. Dean was staring in shock, thinking perhaps he had heard it wrong, and Castiel turned to glare at his brother.

"Well, you _do_ have a pointy ass," Gabriel laughed.

"No I don't," Sam said, giving the guy a bitchface. "Anyway, who's this?" Sam asked, looking at Castiel now. That was also when both Dean and Castiel noticed that they had shifted somewhat closer to each other; so close that their arms were almost brushing against the other's.

"Oh," Dean said, feeling his face flush red and took a step small away, and Castiel did the same. "This is Cas, I think I told you a little about him. He's also Gabe's brother."

"Ooh," Sam said, eyes lighting up. "It's nice to meet you," Sam said, holding a hand out for Castiel to shake.

Castiel shook his hand. "You too, Sam."

Castiel observed Sam for a moment; his grace recognizing him as the 3-year-old younger brother of Dean's from their childhood. But like with Dean, Sam did not seem to recognize him. Which was good.

It wasn't like they had played much together back then – Dean had always wanted to be alone with Castiel when they were playing together, mostly because he didn't like it when someone else (especially Sam) got curious and touched Castiel's wings. That was before he learned how to hide his wings, and Dean always found them very fascinating.

"So, uh, do you guys have any plans for tonight?" Dean asked, looking at Castiel and Gabriel, who looked back at him in surprise.

"Not really, why?" Castiel said, and cocked his head to the side.

"Well, I was wondering, maybe you could join me and Sam? We're gonna go to town tonight and have some fun, but I guess some more company wouldn't be so bad."

"Oooh yeah, I'm all in!" Gabriel said. "And so is Cassie here," he added and hit his brother in the back.

Castiel glared at him. Gabriel was once again making decisions without asking him first. He wasn't used to 'having fun' in town at night, and the thought of going actually made him a little nervous. But Dean had invited them, so Castiel didn't protest.

Sam made a grimace and glared briefly at Dean, who didn't notice. If Gabriel came along, there was a good chance Sam would be the target of his pranks once again, and Sam wasn't particularly interested in that.

They said goodbye and agreed to meet later in a club a few streets away from the university.

When Castiel came home he sat down on the couch with a sigh and buried his face in his hands. Gabriel had come home with him, and was taking the liberty of snatching some of the snacks Castiel kept in the kitchen.

"What, don't tell me you're nervous, little bro," Gabriel chuckled as he returned to the living room with the bag of snacks.

"I don't… like… night clubs," Castiel told him; face still buried in his hands.

"Have you ever been to one?"

"….No."

Gabriel laughed. "Then how can you say that? C'mon, Cas, you're gonna love it. You really need to get away from that asshole Zachariah. I don't get why you're still there anyway." He dug his hand into the snack bag and started munching.

"Because no one else will employ me," Castiel mumbled and put his hands down in his lap instead.

"Well, maybe you just didn't search enough for a place," Gabriel said with his mouth full, while he was moving over to take a look at Castiel's small DVD collection. He wondered if Castiel ever actually watched any of those.

"I looked for a whole year, Gabriel…"

"Right," the archangel said, turning around to face his brother again. "But either way, tonight you're gonna get away from that fat bastard and be with Dean – just like the old days – so quit looking so depressed already."

"I'm not looking depre—" Castiel trailed off as he let Gabriel's words sink in. He turned his head around to look at his brother, who was observing him carefully. "…You, you knew?"

"About Dean?" Gabriel asked. "Yes, I know about him. Ever since we first saw him at the café, actually. Once I know someone's soul, I don't forget it again. Cas, you know that."

Castiel stood up and walked towards his brother. "Then why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh, c'mon, like that would have changed a damn thing," Gabriel said, making a gesture with his hand that made the contents of the snack bag shuffle. "You'd still be too afraid to tell him who and what are you anyway. 'Cos I bet you didn't do that yet, did you?" he asked knowingly, grabbing another snack from the bag.

Castiel's gaze fell the ground, guiltily. "No, I didn't."

Gabriel sighed and put the bag away. "I know old Mr. Winchester went all 'get-the-fuck-out-you-filthy-angel' on you, but Dean isn't like that, and I think he deserves to know the truth. Hell, I actually think he has his suspicions about you as it is."

Castiel looked up at his brother and frowned. "Dean hasn't mentioned—"

"Of course he hasn't mentioned it, you idiot, 'cos he isn't sure yet. Hell, I don't even know _how_ much he knows, but I do know you seem familiar to him. Just tell him already, Jesus."

"It's too late anyway," Castiel mumbled.

"Better late than never," Gabriel shrugged. "Now let's get dressed for tonight, shall we? We're gonna make you look hot," he smirked and gave his little brother a wink.

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It was sort of crowded in the club when they arrived. Gabriel pushed his way through the crowd with Castiel following him closely. The music was sort of loud, and so were the people; most of them were drunk by now. Castiel felt kind of out of place, this wasn't an environment he was used to.

When they reached the back of the club, Castiel spotted Dean and Sam over by some tables in the corner. Dean nodded at them as he saw them and hurried over.

When Dean finally made his way through the crowd of people and got to the place where Castiel and his brother were standing, he froze.

Castiel wasn't wearing his usual outfit. Instead, he wore a dark, tight t-shirt with some pattern on its front, and dark tight jeans. Gabriel had said the jeans made his ass stand out as more 'sexy', Castiel had merely frowned in disgust at that but wore them anyway. It wasn't like he could tell Gabriel 'no' once the guy had made up his mind about something. Though he did think these clothes were a bit too 'human' for him, and he felt sort of uncomfortable wearing them to the club.

Dean stared at him for a few seconds; eyes travelling hungrily over Cas' body.

"Dean?" Castiel asked, uncertainly, shifting under Dean's stare.

Dean seemed to snap out of it and looked up at his face. "Uh… oh, sorry. Err, Sam and I are sitting over there in the corner. You guys wonna come over?"

"Sure thing, we better go now before you eat my brother alive with that look," Gabriel laughed and patted Dean's back as he walked past him and over to the tables.

Dean's face flushed red, but decided to ignore Gabriel's comment. "Uh, are you coming?" he asked Castiel, who was still frowning after Gabriel's comment. Castiel at him and they walked through the crowd back to the tables.

Sam was waiting for them, and his face lit up as they finally came over. He groaned inwardly as Gabriel sat down next to him, while Dean and Cas sat down on the opposite side of the table.

"Don't worry, Sammy, I don't bite," Gabriel told him with a smirk when he noticed Sam's tight expression.

"Well, but you do all other sorts of things…" Sam said, shifting nervously.

Gabriel burst out laughing. "Oh that's true, but you aren't my target tonight, Sam."

Sam wasn't sure whether to be feel relieved or not.

They ended up chatting a bit about what the others did, since Sam didn't know Castiel or Gabriel that much, and they didn't know that much about him. Of course Sam knew Gabriel from the university, but he only saw him sometimes when the guy was doing his chores or pulling pranks – and of course when Sam was the target of one of his pranks. They had never really talked to each other that much before.

The conversation was long, and Dean and Gabriel seemed to get along pretty well. It didn't surprise Castiel that much considering they both had pretty much the same sense of humour.

After having chatted for about an hour, Gabriel decided to go look for some hot chick. Sam also left the table as it turned out that Jess was also at the club tonight.

That left only Dean and Cas back at the table, and neither had any intentions of picking up girls. The music was still pounding in the background, and people were yelling and screaming around as they enjoyed themselves.

Castiel was already at his third beer by now, and was beginning to feel a bit dizzy from the alcohol. Of course he could just will it away, but he didn't want to appear suspicious. Dean was already done with his fourth beer, and it was beginning to show a bit. He started talking more and more, but he wasn't too far gone, he knew what he was saying and doing.

"So," Dean said, putting down his empty bottle on the table and turned to look at Cas. "When are you gonna leave that place you work at? You can't possibly want to keep working for such a dick."

"I don't 'want' to work there," Castiel said, placing his half-empty beer on the table as well and started fumbling with the etiquette. "But I haven't been able to find anything else, and you know, I gotta live."

"True, but 'cmon, I could help you find a place?" Dean suggested.

"No, thank you. It's okay. I'll live," Castiel said, not taking his eyes from the beer in front of him.

Dean observed him for a minute and smiled smugly.

"You know, when you fumble with the etiquette on a beer bottle, it usually means that you're sexually frustrated," Dean said, gesturing at the etiquette Cas had already peeled half-way off.

Castiel froze and stopped peeling it off. "Well, maybe I am…" he said, and leaned back in the seat with a sigh.

Dean chose not to comment on that and instead leaned back as well. Their shoulders bumped together, and they were sitting pretty close, thighs touching, but neither moved away.

"You know, I'm glad we have this thing going on; with you coming by once a week, having a chat and all," Dean said after a few moments of silence between them.

Castiel's body tensed somewhat next to his, but then he relaxed again. "As am I," Castiel replied softly.

Dean leaned closer to him, making Castiel turn his head to look back at him. Dean brought his right hand up and cupped Castiel's cheek gently, never moving his eyes away from his. "I'm really glad you came," he said.

"Dean..."

Castiel didn't manage to say more, because then Dean's lips brushed against his; gently, uncertain, as if asking for permission. Castiel's grace jumped inside him, and he froze for a moment, unsure of what to do. Then, he moved his lips closer to Dean's; pressing against them and giving him the permission he was asking for.

Dean made a small growl and moved his body closer to Cas', pushing him into the corner of the seat and started kissing him harder. The kiss was passionate but hungry, and Dean's hand moved to the back of Cas' neck as he worked on the guy's mouth; tasting his lips and feeling Cas respond to him.

The kiss was overwhelming. It was a long time ago Castiel had last kissed someone, and he couldn't remember ever experiencing a kiss like this; with so much feeling in it that made his grace go mad inside of him. He was so overwhelmed that he almost didn't notice when Dean's tongue came out, pushing against his lips, begging for entry. Castiel parted his lips, allowing Dean to explore the insides of his mouth. Castiel lost himself in the feeling of Dean invading his mouth; battling his tongue and exploring every part he could reach. His hands were grapping onto Dean's t-shirt, but he moved them up to Dean's shoulders and neck as the kiss continued.

Finally they pulled apart to catch their breaths, but they didn't move away from each other. Castiel stared into Dean's green eyes, and Dean back in his before Dean moved his head forward, bringing their foreheads together; eyes never leaving Castiel's.

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They left the club soon afterwards. Gabriel had found some hot chick to spend the night with, and Sam had found Jess. Both Cas and Dean were tired and decided it's better to head home now and get some rest.

When they went outside the club, they were met with cool air. Castiel shivered. He missed his trench coat already.

"Sorry, dude, but I don't have a jacket you can borrow," Dean told him, looking at him sympathetically.

"That's alright. I don't live all that far from here anyway," Castiel said; bringing his hands up to rub on his arms.

"Want me to follow you home?"

Dean's question was not what Castiel had expected. He looked at him in surprise, unsure of what to say. "I…"

"It's alright if you don't want me to," Dean said, shifting nervously.

"No, it's alright. I'd like that."

"Alright, you lead the way," Dean smiled.

Castiel started walking in the direction of his street, Dean walking next to him. They mostly walked in silence; blushing whenever their gazes met. Things had gotten kind of awkward after the kiss, which was still fresh in memory.

They walked through a dark alley; Dean saying that this was most likely a shorter way to Cas' apartment. Cas was somewhat reluctant to go into the alley, but followed his friend anyway. But when they had almost reached the end of the alley, four men suddenly appeared from the darkness, making Dean and Cas stop up in surprise.

"Look what we've got here; two lost pieces of meat," one guy said, looking them up as he approached them. Dean instinctively moved in front of Castiel; trying to shield him from the strangers. "What's wrong? Afraid I'll hurt your pretty boyfriend?" the guy mocked.

"Just keep your distance, asshole," Dean snarled.

The three other guys encircled them; each of them eyeing them up hungrily as they stepped closer.

"Oh, I'll keep my distance alright, but not to your pretty boyfriend here," the guy – the leader – said with a dark grin.

Suddenly Dean heard Castiel yelp behind him and turned to see two of the guys grapping his friend, forcing him over to the wall. "Cas!" he shouted, but was then attacked by the third guy who pushed him to the ground; pinning him in place with his weight.

Dean tried to fight him off, and was aware of Cas struggling to get free from the other guys' grips.

"Don't worry; we'll take good care of your boyfriend," said the guy was on top of Dean; flashing him a grin that revealed his unkempt teeth. Dean made a sound of frustration, struggling to get free when all of sudden he heard the two guys who were grapping at Cas scream and collide with the wall.

"The fuck?" said the guy above him; getting up and running over to Cas, only to get hit hard and slammed against the brick wall.

Dean looked up and saw Cas standing there; huge black wings coming out from his back, and three big guys laying around him on the ground after he had slammed them against the wall with the strength of his wings.

The leader now engaged Castiel; throwing himself at him with an angry growl only to receive a punch in the stomach that sent him to the ground immediately, holding his aching stomach and groaning in pain. The other men got up quickly and ran away as fast as they could, soon disappearing out of sight.

Castiel grabbed the leader, who was still on the ground, by the front of his shirt and pulled him to his feet with just one hand. "_Get. The fuck. Out,_" Castiel growled at him. As soon as he released the guy's shirt, he was running away also, following his friends.

Dean was still on the ground; sitting up and leaning back on his hands while he stared up at Cas with wide, disbelieving eyes. Castiel's wings were still out; huge and magnificent and dark as the night with a slight navy-blue glow to them.

Dean knew those wings. He had been so fascinated by them as a child. He could never forget their beauty.

His mouth opened and closed a few times before he managed to force out, "_You_… it was you, all along…" The angel turned his sorrowful eyes towards him; the dark wings moving tighter to his body. "Cas… as in Castiel, am I right?" Dean said; voice trembling with betrayal and disbelief.

"Dean…" Castiel said. His wings drooped slightly behind him as if to mimic his sad and guilty expression.

Dean got to his feet, slowly; eyes never leaving Castiel. "Why didn't you tell me?" he asked. His voice wasn't angry, but it revealed the betrayal he felt. Castiel could also feel it in his soul. It was painful to witness.

"Dean, I…"

"_Why?_" Dean demanded; voice cracking as tears starting forming in his eyes, but he held them back.

"Dean, I'm sorry…" Castiel said; his own voice cracking. He spread out his wings – almost touching the walls on either side of him with their huge span – and before Dean could say anything, the angel took off and flew out of the alley; leaving Dean alone to cope with what just happened.

To be continued…

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Sorry about the cliff-hanger, I'll try to update soon.

Hope you enjoyed it and please leave a review for me – it only takes a minute and they keep me motivated. Thank you :)

And thank you to everyone who reviewed so far, I appreciate it very much! :)


	4. Chapter 4

Castiel felt like shit.

He had called at work, told them he was sick. Zachariah had said he was full of lies but Castiel didn't care. He had the right to take one week off from work when he was sick.

Castiel spent the days lying on the couch, watching TV without really watching. He lay on his stomach, his wings spread out behind him as they always were when he was home. He hadn't felt like trying to keep the feathers in place lately, and he didn't care that they had started to look like a mess after he had tossed around in bed all night. He didn't pay any attention either to all the feathers that were spread about his apartment now.

He knew he had screwed up. That he should have told Dean about himself earlier, and not to have let Dean find out like this.

Castiel grace twisted in pain inside him. He had allowed himself to get too attached to Dean with his grace, now he was paying the price. Deserved him right, he thought bitterly.

Gabriel had come back Saturday morning and asked what happened, but Castiel hadn't answered him. Gabriel could probably guess it anyway. His brother had left him in the afternoon; promising to return next week to check up on him. Castiel didn't care. Not really.

"C'mon, Cas. You can't just lie in here forever, hiding from the world," Gabriel said one day as he dropped by. Castiel didn't look away from the TV screen as his brother talked.

"I screwed up, Gabriel. Now leave me alone," Castiel bit out.

"Damn right you screwed up. But it doesn't help that you lie here all day – what would help is that you go out, find Dean and talk to him!"

Castiel turned his head, staring angrily up at his brother. "Don't tell me what to do! I can't see Dean again. I _won't_ see him again."

"Cas…" Gabriel sighed; shoulders slumping in defeat.

"Just leave me alone," Castiel said, turning his head towards the screen again and rested his chin on his arms that were folded on the couch. His wings drew closer to his body; shielding most of it from Gabriel's sight to signal that he didn't want to talk anymore.

He heard his brother leave the apartment soon afterwards. Castiel give into the tears that were tickling his eyes and sobbed into the couch.

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Dean still tried to make sense out of what had happened.

Cas, the strange good-looking guy from the café whom Dean had fallen in love with, had turned out to be his long-lost childhood friend, Castiel. An angel.

Dean had pushed away any memory of his childhood friend. The memories hurt too much, he couldn't handle it, so he had supressed them to the point where they were almost completely gone. That was why he hadn't recognized Cas the day he first appeared in the café, and why he didn't realize it sooner. Not until Cas had beat those guys up in the alley and revealed his true nature to Dean. That was when all the memories came crushing back to him, and they hit him like a cold bowl of water.

He now remembered his childhood years when he and Cas were friends; Cas had always come over when Dean's father was at work to play with Dean. Even back then, Cas had been kind of weird, but Dean liked him; he was loyal and friendly, and Dean could lose himself for hours in the depth of his blue eyes. He had always been rather fascinated by Castiel. The boy was different from himself with his dark wings and angelic powers. The angel could smash a stone to pieces with a single punch if he wanted to, and Dean thought it was kind of cool.

Dean remembered the day John had found out about their friendship. He had all but dragged Castiel out of their garden by his wing; throwing him onto the sidewalk and demanded that Dean never talked to him again.

Dean never understood what it was that John had against his friend, and it angered him that his father was treating Cas like an insect. Soon after that incident, Castiel had moved away with his family because his father got a job in another state. They hadn't talked since his dad had thrown him out; Castiel had always avoided him and run away; eyes full of fear and sadness whenever Dean had approached him.

It hurt that he couldn't be with his friend just because they were different, and if felt like something inside him was torn apart when Castiel left; leaving nothing but pain and emptiness where it used to be warmed by Castiel's presence. That was why Dean had eventually just forgotten about Cas – the memories suppressed deep inside Dean's brain for years. It had been too painful to remember.

It was Wednesday and Castiel didn't show up for their usual meeting.

Not like Dean had expected it, but he couldn't help but hope deep inside that Cas would come by and talk this over with him.

True, Dean felt betrayed and a little angry, but he figured Castiel must have had his reason not to tell him. Why else would he have chosen to keep it a secret from Dean?

Dean was so affected by the emotions inside him that it started to affect his work. Jo had started asking him what was wrong, and had said he should probably take a few days off if he didn't feel well.

Ruby just stared at him out of the corner of her eyes every now and then. Stupid bitch just couldn't mind her own business.

Friday passed by and still no sign of Castiel. Dean didn't even have his phone number, and had never figured out where the guy lived.

So Dean decided he would have to find him by other means…

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Friday night, Castiel was still lying on the couch, watching some stupid comedy movie on TV. He was wearing a pair of sweatpants and an old hoodie. His right wing was resting against the back of the couch in an awkward angle, while the other was draped over the edge of the couch and onto the floor. It was slightly uncomfortable but Castiel couldn't care less.

It was late when he heard a voice outside the door to his apartment. Gabriel's voice. The door was unlocked and he heard footsteps as his brother entered. He wondered why Gabriel was visiting him this late on a Friday night.

"Hey Cassie, you've got a visitor," Gabriel announced as he entered the living room. He was obviously not referring to himself.

"What? I'm not expecting any—" Castiel looked over his shoulder back at his brother and the visitor when he saw Dean.

Dean was standing awkwardly in the doorway; taking in the sight of fallen feathers all over the floor and all the other mess that was lying around.

Castiel was frozen on the couch, staring at Dean with wide eyes and shock. He opened his mouth a few times but no words came out. Suddenly he realized he was still lying on the couch with his back to Dean and his wings out and visible, and Dean's eyes now rested on his wings. He felt exposed. Castiel forced his wings invisible at once and got up from the couch to face Dean.

The human's eyes looked away from the now invisible wings to meet Castiel's own blue eyes.

"Dean? What are you… what are you doing here?"

"I'm here to see you, obviously. You didn't show up to see me anymore so I figured I had to go find you myself then," Dean said, making a gesture with his hands.

"How did you find—" Castiel trailed off and looked over at Gabriel, accusingly, who caught his gaze and just shrugged at him.

"What? He came to me at my work, asking me to take him to you, and I couldn't say no. You guys really need to talk," Gabriel said, making a gesture at two. Castiel glared at him but he ignored it; instead moving towards the door to leave. "Well, have a nice talk you guys, see ya later," he said; giving his little brother a wink before he disappeared out the door.

Castiel was still glaring at the place his brother had just disappeared from before Dean took a step closer to him, making Castiel's eyes focus on him again. Dean looked around the floor again, frowning. "Did you slaughter a chicken, or why is the floor covered in feathers?" he asked.

Castiel followed his gaze to the feathers lying across the floor. "They're my feathers. And they fall out when I'm… when my grace is in pain," he answered; avoiding looking at Dean.

"Cas…" Dean said; voice worried.

Castiel tried to ignore Dean's worry about him. He crossed his arms at his chest and looked up at Dean. "Why are you here, Dean?"

"Cas," he said; approaching Castiel carefully. "I didn't come here to fight. I just wonna talk, that's all."

Castiel took a small step back, looking away from Dean's face. "Don't. There is nothing to talk about."

"Yes there is," Dean said; urgency and determination in his voice. "I just wonna know why, Cas. Why didn't you tell me who you were?"

Castiel looked up at him when he heard the hurt in his voice. He felt the hurt and confusion in Dean's soul, and his own grace ached at the realization that he was the one who had caused it.

"I, I don't know," he said, looking to the ground in guilt; arms falling to his sides. "I suppose I was just… afraid." His voice was almost like a whisper but Dean heard him clearly.

"Afraid?" Dean repeated, taken a little aback. "Cas, you should know I'm not hostile towards angels. What was there to be afraid of?"

"Everything, Dean!" Castiel said; head snapping up to look back at his friend. "Angels and humans aren't supposed to be close, you know that. All the time I am met by hostile humans, and even though you aren't, the ones close to you are." He took a step back; barely holding back the tears now. "I don't wonna go through that again…"

"Jesus, Cas…" Dean said; running a hand through his hair before looking back at the angel. "I know my dad wasn't exactly nice to you, but I haven't talked with him for a long time now. Things got bad between us… 'Suppose we just had different opinions on things. And Rachel… Rachel I broke up with, I told you that. And Sam isn't hostile against angels. I know that because he actually considered studying angel culture instead of law," he said, laughing half-heartedly when he remembered Sam's crisis about which of two to choose. In the end his brother had chosen law – and studying angel culture as hobby instead.

"But—"

"_But,_" Dean cut him off; walking closer to Castiel who was now pinned between the edge of the couch and Dean; green eyes boring into the blue that stared back at him with uncertainty. "I don't give a rat's ass about those who cannot accept my feelings towards you. Then it's their fucking problem, not mine." He almost growled the words out; determination evident in his voice and in his eyes as he didn't take his eyes away from the angel's.

"Dean…" Castiel said; staring at him in shock and surprise.

Dean brought his hand up slowly to cup Castiel's cheek, whose eyes were still staring at him in shock. "I just… I want us to be ok, no matter what the others think of us," he said softly. "I don't wonna lose you again. Not ever." Their faces were now very close and Castiel held his breath as his heart started beating faster and his grace pulsed inside him.

"Dean…" Castiel sighed; nuzzling into Dean's hand that was still cupping his check. He noticed Dean's eyes widen slightly at the gesture before the man relaxed. "I, I want us to be ok, too. And I'm sorry…"

"Cas," Dean sighed in relief. "'s okay, I'm sorry too. I'm sorry I didn't remember you," he said; bringing their foreheads and noses together as they stared into each other's eyes. He wiped away a small tear that fell down the angel's cheek before he brushed his lips gently against Castiel's.

Castiel responded immediately and their kiss deepened. Dean's free hand came up to rest on Castiel's hip, and the other hand moving up to grab Cas' hair gently, but possessively, while the angel buried his hands in Dean's clothes and pulled their bodies a little closer. He groaned into Dean's mouth when he felt the human's growing erection push against his thigh. Dean grabbed his hip tighter, almost leaving bruises if Castiel hadn't been an angel, and pushed his tongue into the angel's mouth, who welcomed it.

Castiel hadn't been this aroused for a very long time. He pushed back against Dean; seeking friction which the human gave him by pushing his groin to Cas'. Castiel's hands had travelled to Dean's wingless back; clawing at him as he gasped at the friction Dean had caused.

Of course, it was right in that moment that Gabriel decided to burst through the door.

"Argh, sorry guys, forgot my bag of—" Gabriel trailed off as he saw Dean and Castiel pull apart abruptly; faces red, sweating, and obviously very aroused. "—chips…" he finished. He raised an eyebrow at two, who were now staring everywhere else but at each other. "Dude. Two minutes after I leave, you two are already eating each other up. Wow, Cas, you really don't waste any time, do you?" he smirked.

Castiel's face went impossibly red. "It was more than two minutes. And why are you here, Gabriel?" he bit out, glaring at his brother for having such a bad timing.

"I told you; I forgot my bag of chips which I bought earlier. I ain't letting you have them, so I'm taking them home," Gabriel said, picking up the bag from the table and clinging to it possessively.

Dean chuckled. "You really don't have anything else on your mind but to eat, do you Gabe?"

"And you haven't got anything else on your mind but my brother's sweet ass, do you Dean?" Gabriel smirked, watching Dean's eyes widen and face becoming red. Gabriel burst out laughing before he walked over and gave Dean a playful hit in the back. "See ya around, guys," he said before finally leaving the apartment again.

There was an awkward silence between Dean and Castiel now, both avoiding the other's eyes. Dean rubbed his neck nervously. "So, um… Sam is coming over tonight, so I better head home."

"Okay, I've got work tomorrow anyway," Castiel said, eyes not leaving the ground. He hadn't planned on going to work again before Monday, but he knew Zachariah would only make his life a bigger hell if he didn't show up soon.

"Oh, okay then. See you around?" Dean asked, as if to make sure.

Castiel met his eyes and smiled at him. "Of course."

"Alright. See you then," Dean smiled back, moving over to the door to leave.

"See you, Dean," Castiel replied, watching Dean disappear out the door and close the door behind him.

To be continued…

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Sorry, this chapter was relatively short, but I promise that the next (and final) chapter will be longer.

Thank you for all your reviews – you guys are awesome, thank you so much for your support, it's really motivating :)


	5. Chapter 5

This chapter is **rated M**. Enjoy :)

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Zachariah didn't look very pleased when Castiel showed up the next day. Not like Castiel had expected him to. He avoided his boss as much as he could, instead concentrating on doing his work as well as possible.

It was almost like being a bee in a bee hive. Everyone was a slave for the boss.

Castiel carried the goods from the truck outside and into the warehouse. He had to lift the extremely heavy pallet into the warehouse and then put the goods on the shelves there. It was not a job humans could perform without the use of machines and equipment, but the angels could. Though, after a long day of hard work, one's back would start to hurt. The heavy weight of an angel's enormous wings didn't do anything to help the pain go away.

Just when Castiel was done carrying the last pallet in, Zachariah approached him.

"Castiel," he said, firmly, making Castiel turn his head around to look up at his boss. "Where were you all week?"

"I was sick."

"Sick?" Zachariah repeated, raising an eyebrow at him. "Angels don't get sick. It's a human thing to get sick."

Castiel just stared back at him, impassively.

"Wonna tell me what you were really doing?" his boss asked. Castiel shifted. He had already told Zachariah the truth, what did his boss expect him to say?

Zachariah narrowed his eyes at him, moving closer, and Castiel had to stop himself from flinching as his boss sniffed at him. The stronger angel's eyes narrowed even more, staring at him with disgust. "You smell like human," he growled.

The words made several of the other angels turn their heads around to look at the scene and at Castiel, but Castiel ignored them. He just stared back at Zachariah; not denying his statement.

The other angel growled at him before grabbing Castiel's arm painfully hard. "You've been fooling around with a _human!_" he spat. "No employee of mine fools around with _humans_, do you understand me, Castiel?"

Castiel tried to free himself from his boss' grip, but he couldn't. The other angel was more powerful than he was. But when Zachariah spat those words at him, Castiel's eyes narrowed dangerously at him. "Then I won't be your employee anymore!" he spat back.

The other angels gasped and held their breaths, and Zachariah eyes widened in shock before he glared Castiel down. "What did you say, _boy?_"

"I said: then I won't be your fucking employee anymore!" Castiel snarled. His heart was racing like never before; his body filled with fear and adrenaline as he, for the first time ever, stood up for himself against his boss.

Zachariah stared at him before he growled and pushed him, harshly. "You're fired, Castiel!" he snarled before stalking out of the room.

Castiel stood back and watched his boss stalk out the room; face twisted in anger, disgust and a tiny touch of shock. Castiel let out a sigh of relief he didn't even know he had been holding, before he turned around and was met with the cheering of his colleagues, who had apparently only been waiting for someone to do this.

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It was raining heavily that Saturday evening around 9pm. A thunder storm was approaching; lighting up the skies far away after the sound of each strike. The rain and wind blew against the windows, making loud noises.

Dean had just had Sam over. Sam had already been at his door last night after he came back from Cas' place, waiting for his brother to let him in. He had asked where Dean had been, and Dean of course had told Sam about Castiel.

Sam was very surprised. He hadn't recognized Castiel at all. Not like Dean had expected him to, seeing as they hadn't seen each other for eighteen years. Sam had immediately flooded Dean with questions but he refused to answer many of them. The things between him and Cas was still very new, and he didn't feel like sharing the whole thing with Sam. Besides, it wasn't like he knew the answer to all the angel questions his brother flooded him with. Not yet, anyway.

Sam had ended up sleeping in Dean's apartment because they had lost track of time. Now, after his brother had gone home to Jess, Dean started cleaning up the mess they had made last night. Dirty plates, pizza boxes and empty beer bottles were all over the place.

Damnit, he should have hired a cleaning lady, Dean thought to himself.

He had just finished cleaning when the doorbell rang. He frowned. He wasn't expecting any visitors tonight.

Dean walked over to the door and opened it slowly, only to see a very cold and wet Castiel standing outside the door; staring up at him with his blue eyes. His hair was drenched in rain water; sticking to his forehead, and he had wrapped his arms around himself to keep warm and he stood there; teeth chattering and body shivering all over.

"Hello Dean," the angel said, voice hoarse from the cold.

"Cas?" Dean said, surprised. "What are you— Dude, you're freezing! Come inside." He stepped aside to let Cas enter his apartment. The angel nodded gratefully before stepping inside, leaving wet spots on the wooden floor of Dean's hallway.

Dean closed and locked the door before he helped the angel out of his trench coat and wet shoes, and led him into the living room. He placed towels on the couch and asked him to sit down, before he gathered more towels and wrapped one around Castiel's shoulders. He went and made some tea for Castiel, soon returning and placed the cup in the angel's hands.

"I thought you said you worked till 11pm on most Saturdays. How come you're off work so early?" Dean asked as he sat down on a footstool he had placed in front of the couch so he could face the angel better.

"I was fired," Castiel said, staring down at the cup of tea in his hands, which was warming his hands so nicely.

Dean's eyes widened in shock. "_What?_ I mean, why?"

"I might kind of have told Zachariah I don't want to work for him anymore," Castiel muttered.

Dean laughed. "So you basically told him he was an asshole and you didn't want to play by his rules anymore, huh? Man, I was wondering when you'd do that. That guy sounds like a total asshole anyway."

Castiel's lips curved into a smile and he took a sip from his tea. He shivered slightly as his wet, cold clothes clung to him, but the tea made it better.

"Aren't you supposed to be able to…you know, dry off magically?" Dean asked, gesturing to Castiel's wet clothes.

Castiel looked down at himself and his wet, cold clothes with a frown. "I… I don't have much energy left. There was a lot of hard work today and besides… the past week hasn't been very easy. It drained my grace almost completely." He looked down at his lap in shame. His depression had been hard on his grace, which had been in constant pain over what he had done to Dean. Even his feathers had fallen out. And the energy he had left had been used up at work today. He couldn't even dry himself anymore.

"Oh," Dean said, realizing what the angel was referring to. There was silence for a few moments. "Well, you shouldn't sit around in those wet clothes, I'll go see if I have something you can borrow from me," he said; getting up from the footstool and walked towards his bedroom.

Castiel's eyes followed his movements in silence.

Soon after, Dean returned to the living room with a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt. "I uh… they are a bit old, but it was the only things I could find. I think I need to wash my laundry soon." He put the clothes down on the couch next to Castiel, who put aside his tea.

"Thank you," Castiel said and stood up from the couch to take off his suit jacket and unbutton his shirt.

Dean watched as Castiel's torso was now only covered by the wet, white shirt, which clung tightly to the angel's slim body. He could see the angel's nipples through the shirt, which made Dean's face turn red and his pants grow tight, and he turned around to let Castiel have some privacy. He heard the angel fumble with the clothes until he told him he was done changing.

Dean turned around again and looked Castiel up and down. "Well, they are a bit big for you, but you're slimmer than me, so… Well, I'll just go put these for drying," he said; picking up Castiel's wet clothes and walked into the kitchen where he draped them over some chairs so they could dry off. It was then he realized that he hadn't given the angel any dry boxers, meaning Cas was now only wearing the sweatpants… He quickly shook off the thought and returned to the living room.

/

Castiel felt quite comfortable in these clothes. He had used the towel to dry himself off before putting on the clothes, but he hadn't had the opportunity to dry his wings yet. When Dean left the room, Castiel released his wings; making them visible and tangible. In this state he could will the rain drops away easily. He brought a hand up to put some of the stray feathers back in place. They were still a bit messy after the week he had spent being miserable in his apartment.

"So, Cas, I put your clothes for drying. It'll take a while before they—"

Castiel looked up in shock and saw Dean's equal expression of shock as the human stared at his exposed wings. Unconsciously, his wings moved into a defensive position behind his back as he stared at Dean.

"Shit, sorry, didn't mean to—" Dean trailed off before he frowned at Castiel in confusion. "What are you doing anyway?" he asked curiously, gesturing to the wings.

Castiel shifted uncomfortably; wings relaxing slightly behind him again. "Uh… I used them to shield myself from the rain, though it kind of failed. They got wet, so I just dried them…"

"Oh," Dean said, absently walking closer; still staring in awe and wonder at the wings.

Castiel observed Dean's every step. He felt exposed and vulnerable like this. He was about to move his wings out of sight when Dean protested.

"No!" Dean said; making Castiel look at him in surprise. "Don't take them away… don't make them invisible to me again, Cas, please."

"Dean…"

"I like your wings… You know that, Cas. Please, just let me see them?"

"Dean," Castiel muttered, biting his lower lip. "It's highly inappropriate for me to have them out like this. Please let me conceal them again…"

"Why don't you want me to see them, Cas? You didn't have a problem with it before," Dean asked; still staring at Castiel with eyes that made the angel's knees weak.

"I couldn't conceal them before," Castiel muttered. "Besides, I'm not a child anymore, Dean. My wings are different now. They're sensitive. Very sensitive. Much more than before. I don't… I don't feel comfortable having them out in front of people." Castiel's shoulders slumped and so did the wings. It was embarrassing talking about his wings, especially to Dean.

"But I'm not just 'people' to you, am I?" Dean smiled, smugly; making Castiel's face flush red and look away. No, Dean wasn't just 'people' to him. He had kissed with him after all. Of course Dean knew this wouldn't make him just any human to him.

Dean stepped closer, stopping almost right in front of Castiel, and was still not taking his eyes off of him. "Cas, can I… Can I touch them? Just this once at least, please?" he begged.

Castiel bit his lower lip. He wanted Dean to touch them; his wings were almost aching to be touched by Dean's gentle hands again, but he was scared. Scared because he wasn't quite sure how it'd feel having Dean touch them now that they were mature.

"I'll be gentle, Cas, I promise," Dean said, sincerely.

The pleading look in his eyes, and his desire to touch him, made Castiel feel like he was losing all control over himself.

After a few moments of internal struggle with himself, Castiel finally relaxed; spreading his wings slightly in invitation to Dean.

Dean's eyes lit up and he approached the angel carefully, standing in front of him and extended a hand to the left wing. He hesitated a bit before he touched it, brushing his fingers through the feathers. Castiel gasped and closed his eyes at the sensation, giving Dean more confidence. Soon, the human buried both his hands in the wing and sighed.

"Damnit, Cas. I've missed your wings so much," Dean whispered as he stroked one of the wings; enjoying the softness under his fingers. "Missed _you_ so much..."

"Dean…" Castiel whimpered.

Dean continued to explore the wings; touching and probing and learned what made the angel gasp and twitch. Dean noticed that a few feathers were missing here and there, and it saddened him that the angel had let this happen. Not like Castiel could help it, really. He brushed his fingers across those places, and the angel shuddered in response.

Castiel lost himself in the feeling of Dean touching his wings. He had never felt like this before, and his grace flared and reached out to Dean and intended to never let go of him again. This was much more different from when he had been a child. Dean's touches had always been welcome and pleasurable, but now it was almost driving him insane with lust and desire each time Dean touched the wings.

"_Dean,"_ he gasped in surprise and pleasure as Dean touched the base of his wings where they came out of his body. His knees almost gave out and his hands instinctively grabbed onto Dean to prevent himself from collapsing. Dean quickly supported him with a hand around his waist and drew their bodies closer together. Castiel could feel Dean's erection against his own, and it made him moan.

"Shit, Cas, that's so hot." Dean's mouth started licking and sucking at Castiel's neck now; who bared his throat to Dean, who took the invitation with a possessive growl. Dean's hand on his waist tightened as he sucked on his jaw and neck, and his other hand kept stroking one wing at the base; causing Castiel to shudder and moan even more.

Dean moved them towards the couch, and they both fell onto it when the back of Castiel's knees the edge. The angel yelped in surprise, but soon recovered as Dean was on him again.

It felt a bit uncomfortable, lying on the couch with his right wing against the back of the couch, and his left wing draped over the edge and onto the floor, but as soon as Dean started stroking them and kissing him again, Castiel didn't think about it anymore.

Dean's hands moved under Castiel's shirt; his hands exploring the angel's lean chest and abdomen, and moved down to kiss them as well; soon moving up to tease one of the angel's nipples.

"I've wanted to do this to you ever since I first saw you in the café," Dean said; smiling smugly up at Cas who whimpered and shuddered in response.

"Dean, I—" Castiel trailed off when Dean moved to take off his shirt. Castiel placed his hands on Dean's to stop him. Dean stared at him in confusion before suddenly the shirt disappeared and reappeared on the floor.

Finally his grace was becoming stronger, from being with Dean.

Dean gaped at him. "What— How did you…" he looked between Cas and the shirt on the floor. Then a smile appeared on his face. "Dude, you're awesome."

Castiel merely smiled back at him, before Dean once again leaned down to kiss his lips. His hands moved to pull off Castiel's pants, and the angel let him; not bothering to use any mojo this time, but instead let Dean do it.

When Dean pulled off the sweatpants, he was met with the angel's hard cock, pointing up proudly towards the angel's abdomen, precome already present at the tip.

Castiel tried to pull his legs together when Dean settled down between them, but the human pulled them apart; holding a firm hand on his thigh which then started stroking it soothingly to reassure him.

"Shh, Cas. I'll take care of you."

"Dean," Castiel whimpered; anticipation and desire making his body twitch on the couch as Dean stroked his inner thigh soothingly.

Dean pulled off his own shirt; revealing his lean torso to Castiel whose breath hitched at the sight. Dean was more muscular than Castiel, even though his body didn't contain nearly as much power as the angel's did. Then, he removed his jeans and boxers as well; throwing them onto the floor to join Castiel's clothes.

Castiel licked his lips hungrily.

Dean pulled out a tube from under one of the cushions, and Castiel briefly wondered what it was doing there, before he was distracted by Dean who started pouring the liquid onto his fingers. Then the human positioned himself between his legs again, and gently placed one finger at Castiel's entrance.

Castiel's body tensed up; hole clenching shut to keep Dean out. He knew what Dean was planning to do; he'd done this before, but he wasn't sure he could do this now; if he could give himself over to Dean so soon.

Dean stroked his other hand along Castiel's thigh. "Shh, c'mon, Cas. Relax for me, please."

Castiel looked down and into Dean's green eyes.

He trusted Dean. He knew Dean would never hurt him.

That was enough for him to make his decision, and he forced his muscles to relax; allowing Dean the entrance he was begging for.

Dean's finger slowly slipped into him, and Castiel groaned at the sensation. But Dean's repeated soothing comforted him and made him relax. Soon, Dean added another finger and started scissoring them; stretching Castiel's hole.

Dean then moved up, positioning himself above Cas and rested his weigh on his left arm, which was right over Castiel's right wing. He kissed Castiel as he kept spreading him open and ready, and Castiel moaned into his mouth. Soon, Castiel found himself pushing back against Dean's fingers, wanting more, and the man chuckled against his lips.

When Dean pulled out his fingers, Castiel made a noise of protest, wanting them back in there again. But Dean silenced him with a gentle kiss before he drew back; grabbing his own cock and lined it up with Castiel's entrance.

Castiel groaned when Dean breached him; muscles tensing up straight away at the burning sensation. Dean leaned down to kiss and nip at his right wing, making Castiel's body shudder, and eventually he relaxed; allowing Dean to enter him more.

Dean moved his hips forwards, now easily sliding further into the angel, and eventually he was fully inside of him, and he gasped at the feeling of Castiel's tight hole wrapping around him. Castiel's hands had moved to his back; clawing at it, and he too gasped out loudly when Dean was fully sheathed inside of him.

Dean waited a few moments, letting Castiel adjust to the feeling of his member inside of him, before he drew back to the tip and then slammed forwards, hard.

Castiel gasped and mewled; fingers digging into Dean's back. When the human started thrusting into him, his hands moved further down to Dean's ass and tried to push him further into him.

"Shit, Cas, so tight," Dean moaned as he thrusted into him, and Castiel moaned in response. Dean nipped at Castiel's wing bone, not minding the feathers that tickled his nose because all he felt was _Cas_. His right hand found the left wing while his left hand was supporting his weight. He grabbed hold of the soft feathers; feeling Castiel clench around him in pleasure as he did so.

"Dean!" Castiel gasped when Dean finally hit his prostate head on.

Dean chuckled, and observed how the angel started mewling, writhing and twisting beneath him; face twisted in pleasure at everything Dean did to him.

Castiel felt something pooling in his abdomen. He knew it was his orgasm, he had had them before, but it had never felt quite like this. When Dean sped up even more, pounding harder into him, Castiel lost control. He screamed Dean's name as he came, untouched, between their bodies, white stripes covering their abdomens.

Castiel's orgasm threw Dean slightly out of course, as the angel's muscles were clenching down around his cock. He came soon afterwards, and Castiel watched his face twist in ecstasy as he spilled his warm seed into Castiel. Castiel moaned at the sensation, and soon after Dean collapsed on his chest.

"Shit, sorry," Dean said, voice hoarse from the sex, and lifted his weight off of Castiel. He pulled his softening cock out of the angel, who whimpered in response; muscles tightening to try and keep Dean inside of him, but he just chuckled and moved away. He gestured to Castiel to get up, and the angel frowned at him, but got up anyway. Then Dean lay down on the couch and pulled Castiel down on top of him.

"There. Should be more comfortable for your wings when they aren't pressed against the couch," Dean said, running a hand over the base of the wings, and kissed the nearest wing tenderly, feeling Castiel hum in contentment.

"Thank you," Castiel murmured against Dean's chest; hands wrapping around the human beneath him.

Dean petted the wings gently, and Castiel purred against his chest. The angel's eyes were closed, and his lips were curled into a contended smile. Dean couldn't help but smile warmly at that.

They lay silently for a while, enjoying each other's warmth and softness.

"I'm sorry," Dean said suddenly, causing Castiel's eyes to open. "For not recognising you. I just didn't really want to remember all the shit that happened back then. It just hurt so much after my dad ordered me not to see you anymore, and I… I'm sorry, Cas," he trailed off, voice cracking.

Castiel raised his head from Dean's chest to look at him. "Dean. It wasn't your fault. I don't blame you for anything. I love you; I always have."

And it was true. Castiel had always loved this human. More than anything else. And it hurt to watch the sadness in Dean's eyes right now.

Dean's hands tightened around his back and feathers. "I love you too, Cas." Then he pulled Castiel up to kiss his lips fiercely; putting all his emotions into that kiss and Castiel moaned into his mouth and responded right away.

They fell asleep on the couch, on top of the other, but neither of them cared. Both felt content and happy, and that was what mattered.

~*~*~*~ 4 months later… ~*~*~*~

"Cas! There is a new customer in the back row, go ask what he wants," Jo said; stressing to gather all of her own customer's orders together and take them to him.

"Yes, Jo," Castiel said, quickly picking up his pen and paper block and rushed over to the new customer.

It was a stressing day at the café. It was around noon, and many people came by for a coffee or something for their lunch break. Also, today it was exactly 12 years ago that Ellen had opened the café, meaning they had discounts on all of their products.

Dean had gotten Castiel a job at the café after Zachariah had fired him. Castiel had been rather sceptic about taking a job here – also about working together with Dean – but Dean had assured him that Ellen would welcome him with open arms, so then he wouldn't have to sit around doing nothing while looking for a new job. And Dean had been right. The owner, Ellen, had been delighted to take Castiel in. She loved angels and was very interested in their culture, and so was her daughter, Jo, it seemed. Ruby was another story, but she didn't know.

Of course they had to keep it secret to everyone else that one of the waiters was an angel, because unfortunately people still weren't so open towards angels, and they didn't want Castiel to experience trouble.

Castiel served the new customer and hurried into the kitchen to inform them about the order.

On his way out, he ran into Dean who caught him by wrapping his hands around his waist, preventing Castiel from moving. "Dean!" he protested; laughing when Dean leant in to kiss his jaw and neck, refusing to let him go. "Dean, now's really not the time," Castiel chuckled.

"Any time is the time for me," Dean murmured against his neck, and Castiel chuckled again. He wrapped his arms around Dean's neck and brought their foreheads and noses together.

"Tonight, I promise," he smiled.

"Cocktease," Dean pouted; biting Castiel's ear playfully, making him laugh again.

"Guys, ew. Do that at home," Jo said, as she suddenly stood in the doorway; arms crossed and looking at them disapprovingly.

"You're just jealous," Dean teased; wrapping his hands more possessively around his angel's waist.

Jo made a face. "With all due respect, I already have a boyfriend," she said and walked out of the kitchen again. "And get a room!" she shouted.

They both chuckled at Jo before leaning against each other again.

"Dean, we have to get back to work…"

"Yeah, I know, just…" Dean trailed off. "I enjoy holding you like this."

"Me too," Castiel sighed; nuzzling Dean's nose with his own, gently. "I could stay like this forever."

Dean smiled. "I know. C'mon, let's get back to work."

They pulled apart and gave each other a quick kiss before they went back to work. They had customers waiting for them after all.

But that wasn't what Castiel was thinking about. He was only thinking of Dean being there with him, loving him and supporting him, and he had never felt happier in his life.

Dean had come back to him in the end, after all.

The end.

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Hope you enjoyed my story, and please leave a review for me :)

Thank you to everyone who supported my story so far. It's been a pleasure to read all your reviews, so thank you :)

I am planning on writing a sequel to this fic. But I haven't planned the exact plot yet, and these next few weeks will be busy so I don't know when it will be up. But I do think I will write it at some point. There is still so much to explore in this verse, especially the angel/human relationships. So please look out for a sequel, hopefully it won't take too many weeks to write it, and it will probably only have a few chapters.

Once again, thank you for reading and for your reviews so far :)


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